An open-minded Arab special education teacher living with a foot in each hemisphere.

Disclaimer: Some content is inappropriate for readers under 18 years of age or those offended by swear words, references to sexuality, atheism, and libertarianism.

Tuesday, October 31, 2006

Just goes to show...

The student I previously referred to has a very good reason as to why her parents had become incommunicado... The mother is in jail. Thankfully, I was following my second rule for today's teachers so I have nothing to feel guilty about. I wonder how many teachers in my past even gave it a second thought if one of us came to school tired and withdrawn or teary-eyed. We may not have endured quite as many instances of ill-fortune or been victims of poverty like these kids, but we all had our pain we bore to school each day.

I remember how embarrassed I was at the other Arabs in my classes who were from the same Arab country as I am from... What ignorant buffoons they often were... Not doing homework, failing tests, speaking with disrespect to their teachers. I had had enough when one of my "countrymen" was alseep as we read Julius Caesar in the 9th grade and I thought "typical, I bet he'll get a full scholarship to university and a kiss on the ass as he leaves for his business class flight". Turns out his mother and sister had just died in a car crash recently and he was unable to sleep at home for days since it happened. Actually, he was a lazy-ass student too, and he did get a full scholarship, and the metaphorical kiss on the ass, but it was a high price for him to pay in terms of karma. He was a fun guy. I can easily imagine him sniffing various illegal substances off the faultlessly perfect backsides of high class call girls. He was that kind of guy :) I hope he's behaving himself and enjoying less dangerous pleasure in life.

2 comments:

Something close to that happened to me the other day. My dad's in town and I was angry he wouldn't let me go home over christmas.. I fumed for a few hours until a friend came by and mentioned how he discovered a mutual friend was getting beaten by her dad, along with her deaf mute brother, and her mum.

Even though it's always horrifying to know there's someone worse off, it's uplifting when you get the rare chance to make a difference in someone else's life. An autistic kid in the Cincinnati, Ohio died in his foster home this past summer because he was left tied up in a blanket in the heat for three days with no water. They tried to burn his remains repeatedly to cover it up. Out of Markus' miserable existance we can only hope more adults may want to open their hearts and their homes to foster children so that some good may come of this travesty. I really believe that the most beautiful flower can grow from filth. I hope your friend and her family will find a way to get out of their situation. It won't be easy, even if it is possible.